“Why?” he asks, and it’s a damn good question.
“Things changed when you walked through my front door, and into my life. I’ve changed. I’ve finally been able to face some of the things holding me back. That’s because of you.”
Dominic licks his lips, fidgets with the edge of his blanket. “Julie said you’ve been at the hospital since the accident.”
“I have,” I answer, because where the fuck else would I be? “And before you ask me why again, don’t. You know why, Dominic. I heard what my daughter said to you.”
His eyes widen, and he glances away. “She said that you love me.”
“I do,” I say, zero hesitation. We’ve played games long enough, caused each other enough harm. The proof of that harm currently in a cast.
His head snaps up, eyes meet mine once more. “You do?”
Any distance between his bed and my chair is immediately closed. I add my other hand on top of our already joined ones, and lean in as close as I can.
“I love you, Dominic Castro. I want to claim you as mine, keep you all to myself. I want to wake up every morning with you in my arms, fall asleep every night listening to you breathe. Feel your skin against mine. Your warmth.”
“You don’t want me,” he says. “You want him.”
Pain lances through me, like it always does when I think about Mason. But instead of the razor blades lit on fire with gasoline feeling, the burn is slower. More controlled. Not as sharp.
The deep breath I inhale exits slowly. “A part of me will always love Mason. Will always wonder what would’ve become of us if he hadn’t died. I can’t change that. Don’t know that I would if I could.”
“I know,” Dominic says, his tone quiet. Resigned. He pulls his hand from between mine. I let him.
I stand, run a hand through my hair, pace the room. “Listen, just because I love Mason doesn’t mean I can’t love you. I do love you. I want a future with you. I hope like fuck you still want a future with me.”
His head snaps up. His hopeful eyes search mine. In them, I see what I’ve been searching for this whole time. A place I can be me. Feel safe. Let go. Be trusted. Find a new definition of home.
“I can’t promise shit won’t come up from my past,” I continue. “It will. I’m asking you to love me, to be patient with me, to be by my side while I figure this out. Above everything, I’m asking you to let me love you. To not be ashamed of who you are. Of what you want. Can you do that?”
Dominic’s eyes fill with tears. Say yes, I want to shout. Or beg, even if he’s the one typically begging. Instead, I wait, don’t dare breathe.
“I want that,” Dominic starts, his words measured. “I want you. I just...I don’t know how to do either.”
I sit on the edge of his bed, tangle my fingers with his. “Say yes.” I lean my forehead against his, and Dominic releases a deep sigh. “Say yes, and know that it won’t always be easy. That whatever we want to build will take work. But it’ll also be fun, and exciting, and sexy.”
Dominic’s lips tilt into a grin that makes my heart swell to twice its normal size. Makes other things swell, too.
“Sexy, huh?” He pulls at his hospital gown. “I feel anything but sexy right now.”
My hand finds his cheek. I lean in and kiss him on the lips. “You’ve never been more gorgeous,” I tell him, and it’s the truth.
I thought he was going to die, that I was going to lose the second man I’ve ever loved in almost the same way I lost the first. The fact that he’s alive, by default, makes him the sexiest man on the planet.
He covers my hand with his, presses his lips lightly against mine. “Yes,” he whispers.
“Yes?”
“Yes, I want you. Yes, I want this. I love you, too, Darryl.”
I kiss him hard. Well, as hard as I can considering his injuries. When he moans, I pull back, thinking I’ve hurt him. I know it’s the other kind of moan when he fists the front of my shirt, doesn’t let me go anywhere.
It’s an aggressive move on his part, something Dominic doesn’t do often. In this instance, I like it. If he pulls that shit in the bedroom...fuck, I hope to hell he does. Can’t wait to punish him for it.
“What?” Dominic asks, pulling back from the kiss. “Why are you laughing?”
“I’m thinking about all the things I want to do to you once we get you out of this damn hospital bed.”
Dominic’s grin turns to a scowl. “If I get out of this bed,” he mutters.
“You will,” I say, zero doubt.
“I’m broken,” Dominic says, his voice mimicking his thought. “What if I never walk again? What if I don’t heal, don’t return to normal? What if I can’t please you? Do the things you want—”
I cut him off with another kiss, because that’s enough of that.
“You will get up. You will walk again. You will do everything in life you want,” I say, holding his gaze with mine. “Know how I know?”
He shakes his head.
“Because I’m going to be right here, by your side, pushing you hard the whole time.”
Dominic flinches away, leans back and rests his head on the pillows. “That sounds wonderful and terrifying at the same time.”
My phone beeps, alerting me to a text message. I grab it, read the text from Julie, glance at Dominic.
“Ready for something even more terrifying?” I tease. Mostly tease. What comes next won’t be easy for him. For either of us. But it’s necessary. Important.
He closes his eyes. “I’m not sure I am.”
A knock sounds on the door. Dominic’s eyes snap open. I hold up my phone, give him what I hope is a reassuring look.
“Who is it?” he asks me.
I utter two words that make me feel Dominic’s age again. “Your parents.”
Epilogue
Dominic
Darryl was right. Coming out to my parents, telling them that I was in love with my ex-girlfriend’s dad, was more terrifying than the thought I might never walk again. They ended up more concerned I was postponing college graduation than about the news that I was gay. And dating my ex-girlfriend’s dad.
Not that they weren’t concerned about both.
We got through it, though. With Darryl by my side. Same way I’ve gotten through the last year and a half of recovery. He never doubted that I’d walk across the stage and get my diploma. In fact, he made sure I did both.
Now I’m the one who gets to support his long walk. Down the aisle. To marry off his daughter.
I knock on the bathroom door. “Babe, what are you doing in there? It’s time.”
No answer.
Either Darryl has passed out from nerves, or he’s being stubborn. Probably hyperventilating.
I knock again. “At least tell me that you’re alive.”
No answer.
This is ridiculous. I know he’s nervous about Julie marrying Jordan, but he’s acting like he’s the one getting married.
“Where is he?” Julie’s panicked whisper cuts through the resounding silence of her dad’s non-answer.
She looks stunning in her floor-length, strapless gown. The tiny crystals sewn into the fabric glitter with every movement.
I thumb at the door.
She scoffs, rolls her eyes, and rushes the door. I’m smart enough to get out of the way. She bangs on it using her palm.
“Dad. Open up. It’s your daughter. You know, the one you were supposed to walk down the aisle three minutes ago. My future husband is standing at the altar, waiting for me. Let’s not make him think I stood him up.”
Darryl’s low voice rumbles through the door. “It’s okay to make a man sweat a little, Julie-bug.” He opens the door, grins at his daughter. “Keep him on his toes.” His gaze cuts to me, and I swear it takes every ounce of willpower I possess to draw in my next breath.
Heat floods my system at the sight of Darryl in a tuxedo. Pants tailored, jacket cut in all the right places. My heart pounds against my chest. My mouth goes
dry. My own tailored pants are suddenly way too tight.
I am so in love with this man. And, even after all this time, still in total lust.
“I’m going to find my seat,” I say, wanting to give him time with his daughter.
“Thanks, Dom.” Julie grabs my hand, kisses me on my cheek.
“You look stunning,” I tell her. “I’m so happy for you.”
Her smile could light up the darkest night. “I’m happy, too.”
I turn to go when Darryl’s commanding voice stops me in my tracks. “Wait.”
When I face my lover, my dom, I expect him to give me a kiss and send me on my way. Instead, he pulls out a handkerchief, wipes off sweat from his brow and upper lip. His hands shake as he heaves out a heavy sigh.
“Dad?” Julie says, giving her father the strangest look. “Are you having a stroke, or something? What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, Julie-bug,” he says. “I know Jordan’s waiting. I think he’ll be okay with the why.”
Julie’s gaze catches mine. In it, she’s asking if I know what the hell is going on. I don’t.
Darryl shoves his hand into his pocket. With his other, he wipes his brow again. What the hell has him so nervous? I’ve never seen him act like this. From the look on Julie’s face, neither has she.
“You know,” he starts, “I spent the last fifteen minutes in front of that damn mirror practicing what I was going to say.” He nods toward the bathroom he just exited. “Right now, I don’t remember a damn word of it.”
“If there’s something you need to tell me, Dad, you can tell me at the reception. You don’t have to do it now, if you don’t want.”
“This isn’t about you,” he says.
“Then what—”
Darryl pulls something from his pocket. It’s small. Round. Gold.
His gaze pierces straight through me. Sets off a herd of wild elephants in my guts. He walks toward me with purpose, stops when he reaches me, and drops to one knee.
The elephants turn into nuclear bombs. My ears ring. My heart stops. My lungs freeze.
From somewhere behind her father, Julie gasps, covers her mouth with her hand. But I can’t focus on her. The only thing in the world that exists is the man on one knee before me.
“I-I wanted to do this here, now, partly because my daughter is the reason we met, and I can’t think of a more perfect day to ask than the day I’m to give her away.”
I close my eyes. Tears stream down my cheeks. A sob escapes my throat. It’s the best sound because, for once, Darryl making me cry is a good thing.
“The other reason is that I don’t want to wait one more day, one more hour, one more minute, before I ask you to be my husband.”
Darryl reaches a shaking hand to steady my own. With the other, he brings the ring to my finger, hovers it just out of reach.
“Dominic Castro. Will you marry me?”
The room tilts, as if the world stopped spinning suddenly, leaving me to catch the momentum. My right hip and knee ache from standing too long. The dress shoes don’t help. But the discomfort is nothing compared to the inferno burning inside my chest, my heart pumping the destruction through every vein.
Despite the obstacles, the ghosts from the past, and fear of the future, Darryl has been by my side. What we have isn’t always pretty, and rarely easy. But it’s ours. Mine and his. I can’t imagine doing this life with anyone else.
“Yes,” I try to say, but my throat is squeezed shut, and my lungs stopped working a while ago.
“Breathe, Dom.” Julie claps me on the shoulder, uses the same tone her father does when he trains me. That gets my attention.
I do as she says, proud of the ease with which I follow directions.
“Good,” she says before crossing her arms. “Now that you’re no longer turning red, my father asked you a question. He deserves an answer.”
“Julie,” Darryl practically growls in warning.
“No. She’s right. You do deserve an answer.” I look into the same blue eyes that wanted to kick me out of his house the first time we met, but that have been letting me in deeper and deeper ever since.
Darryl licks his lips. “And? What might that answer be?”
I push my finger forward until the ring encircles it. “Yes,” I whisper, before placing my other hand on his jaw. “Yes, sir,” I say a bit softer, a wicked grin twisting my lips. I lean in close so Julie can’t hear. “I want whatever pleases you. You know how much I love to please you.”
He curses under his breath before pushing to his feet to claim my mouth with his own. The kiss is full of the passion we both feel for one another, and is a bit more obscene than what would traditionally be deemed appropriate in a church setting.
Julie clears her throat a few times before Darryl finally pulls back. His forehead leans against mine, and his hot breath heats my cheeks when he asks, “So, it’s yes? You really mean yes?”
“Yes,” I answer. “I’m yours. I’m your lover. Your sub. And I want nothing more than to be your husband. I love you.”
The kiss is quick this time. “I love you.”
“I love both of you,” Julie says. “I’ll also kick both of your asses if you stall my wedding any longer.”
“Does Jordan know what he’s getting into?” Darryl teases his daughter.
“Oh, he knows. He likes a woman who can take charge.”
Darryl cringes. “Serves me right for asking.”
After one final kiss, Darryl sends me to my seat. The engagement ring on my left ring finger is a comfortable presence. I can’t stop touching it, or staring at it. I probably miss half the ceremony.
“Her father does,” Darryl says, answering the pastor’s question about giving away the bride.
The sound of his voice immediately gets my attention. Makes all parts of me stand at attention. When he takes his seat next to me, he grabs my hand, the one with the ring, and kisses it.
During the vows between Julie and Jordan, I cry. It’s moving, to watch the two of them dedicate their lives to one another. It’s even more moving to know I’ll be doing the same with the man next to me.
I float through the rest of the wedding and reception, so high on love it should be illegal. Not even the pervasive pain in my hip and knee bother me, that’s how in deep I am.
Finally, finally, the day ends, and Darryl takes me home. During the car ride, I can’t keep my hands off him. I’m buzzing with excitement over his proposal, Julie’s wedding, and our future.
My lips find his from the car to the front door, and again all the way to his bedroom. He stops before we enter, places his fingers on my swollen lips. “You know the rules,” he says.
I release a shaky breath, and nod. “Yes, sir.”
Darryl enters first. I count to ten, slowly, then open the door. On a table just inside, I set down my glasses, pick up the collar, and put it on. I start to take off my jacket, all of my clothes, and assume the position he showed me the first time we went to Phong’s.
“Wait.” Darryl husks, his breath heating my earlobe. “I want to unwrap the gift you’re about to give.”
Following his command is simple. Habit. The good kind.
Darryl takes his time undressing me. His lips trail kisses and bites over my exposed flesh. He peels away so much more than fabric. Being with him, like this, under his control, makes me feel powerful. Liberated. Seen.
As soon as I’m naked, Darryl pushes me to my knees. He unzips his pants, grabs the base of his cock, brings the tip to my lips, and strokes himself a few times until his head is damp with his excitement.
“Do you see what you do to me?” He runs his finger along his slick slit, plunges it into my mouth. I moan at how good he tastes. How good he looks. How good he’s about to make me feel.
“Yes, sir,” I say, two words that have become synonymous with I love you. And now, I do. “If it pleases you, I’d like to do something about it.”
Darryl fists my hair, dragging my face closer
to his cock. My own jumps in response. “Yeah,” he says, tone strained. “It would please me.”
Reaching up, I thumb the waistband of his pants and underwear, pull them both down to his feet. His shoes and socks he’d already removed before I entered the room. When the fabric pools on the floor, he steps out of it, kicks it to the side.
I lean into him, run my tongue along the underbelly of his cock, watch him through thick eyelashes as I do. He closes his eyes, tilts his head back, and yeah. I know I’ve got him. For the rest of our lives, I’ve got him.
When my tongue finally reaches his head, I swirl it around the ridge, then plunge the tip into his slit. His taste is familiar, but just as addictive as the first time I tasted him.
“Dominic.” Darryl’s voice breaks on my name. I’m being a tease. I know my future husband wants more. I give him more. I won’t deny him anything ever again.
I put him into my mouth, take him all the way down my throat. Over the past year and a half, I’ve become an expert at sucking Darryl’s dick. Being laid up in a hospital bed, and then on crutches, didn’t allow for normal bedroom shenanigans.
Darryl never pushed anything the entire time I was in recovery. I was the one who pushed him. I wanted him, wanted to please him. I still do. I always will.
“Stop.” Darryl pulls me off of him by my hair. “Not yet.”
He’s close. I can tell by the way his toes grip the floor. The way his thigh muscles turn to stone. The way his abs harden.
Looping his finger into the band of my collar, he drags me to my feet, and all but throws me onto the bed. Before I’ve stopped bouncing on the mattress, Darryl has my feet pressed over my head, my balls, dick, and ass completely at his mercy.
He buries his face into my ass. I cry out, because fuck. My man can eat some serious ass. Clear precum makes a line from my head to my stomach as he licks and sucks on my puckered hole.
His mouth moves to my sack when his finger enters me. He licks me from taint to tip, suckles on my head to draw out more precum. It’s a distraction tactic. His way of skipping from one finger to three.
I clench, but immediately relax. We’ve done this too many times for me not to know the drill. As with all things Darryl, resisting him only causes pain. When I yield to him, let him lead, that’s when ecstasy is achieved.
Trained By My Girlfriend's Dad: A M/M Straight To Gay First Time Romance Page 16